The Amazon Outsider
by Kenny0208
Summary: Johnny's real mother comes for him. When she sees all of the violence that surrounds him daily, will she be able to protect him from it?
1. Premise

After World War II ended, Princess Diana of the Amazons stayed in America and married Steve Trevor with the Queen's reluctant blessings. They enjoyed four years together. Then in 1949, Diana found out that she was pregnant. Shortly before the baby was born, Steve was killed in a plane crash. Diana was heartbroken at the loss of her first love, and terrified at the thought of raising a child on her own. In a moment of weakness, she decided to give the baby up for adoption, in the hopes that he would grow up loved and happy in a stable home, (Yeah Right!). She briefly met the couple that adopted her son. She knew their names. She knew that they came all the way from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Believing she made the right choice, she returned to Paradise Island.

**I thought that this would make an interesting story. I know that it would make some people happy if Johnny's parents weren't really his parents. And it'll be interesting when Diana comes back for him and sees all of the gang violence that her son is caught up in. I'm thinking maybe Diana/Darry. I know Darry is 20, but Diana is physically 25, but can probably pass for a little bit younger. She's a cougar. And since Wonder Woman is involved, I'm debating the possibility of some sort of terrorist threat or something like that. Or is gang violence enough for her to deal with here? This is not an official chapter, but I hope to start posting chapters soon. Let me know what you think of the idea.


	2. Sunsets and Moonlight

**Sunsets and Moonlight**

"Hey, Pony," said Johnny Cade as he sat next to his friend, who was busy watching the sunset.

"Hey, Johnny," Ponyboy looked over at the other boy, "Your parents fighting again?"

Johnny almost smirked at the first two words of that question, 'Your parents…', "Yeah, man, same as usual. Figured I'd stay clear until they either pass out or my dad leaves for the bar."

They sat in silence watching the rest of the sunset. When the sun had finally dipped out of the sky, Ponyboy stood up, "I better get home before Darry skins me alive. You wanna come with?"

"Maybe later, I'm gonna sit here a while longer," said Johnny, not looking up from the ground.

Pony almost insisted, not wanting to leave him there alone, but then thought against it. He'd probably be by later, "Okay, see ya 'round."

When he was sure Ponyboy was gone in the direction of his own house, Johnny pulled a bunch of folded papers out of his pocket, and a picture. He looked at these for a long time, especially the picture, as the last of the sunlight gave way to starlight.

"Hey Johnny, man," said Dallas, startling the younger boy, "What's that you're lookin' at?"

"N-nothing," said Johnny, trying to stow the items. Unfortunately, Dally snatched them up before he could put them away.

There was still enough light for him to just make out the wording on the pages. They were obviously old, with cracks in the creases where they had been folded. The first page was a birth certificate: Johnny's birth certificate. Dally thought nothing of it, until he read he names listed as his mother and father: Steve Trevor and Diana Prince-Trevor. The rest of the papers were stapled together but he could tell from the top page that they were adoption papers.

"Johnny- Where'd you get these?"

"I found 'em in my parents' room one time, a couple years ago when I was looking for lunch money," he looked away ashamed for some reason, "I suppose I'd get my skull cracked open if they knew I had 'em."

"And what's that?" Dally meant the picture that was still in Johnny's hand.

Johnny handed the picture over, "It's a picture of my real parents."

In the picture was a very pretty, no a beautiful woman, with long black hair, but not the kind that just lay flat; it kind of poofed up slightly, but in a good way. The picture was black and white, but Dally could tell her eyes were a light color, and they were filled with warmth and kindness. Her smile looked as if it could brighten the morning sky. The man standing next to her, holding her hand, was wearing an old air force uniform. He was a handsome man with slight wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, made more prominent by the grin on his face. They seemed to be very happy.

"Nice lookin' couple. But why you keepin' this stuff, Johnny?"

Johnny wouldn't meet his eye, "Same reason I stayed with the Cades all these years, I'm hoping that one day they might come and find me and…"

"Stop right there, Johnny," Dally said. He paused for a minute to think of his words. He had to be blunt, but he didn't wanna hurt the kid, "Why do you keep doin' this to yourself, man? It was bad enough with those people that you live with, but now you're getting' your hopes up about these people. If you're adopted, that means that they gave you up. They- they didn't want you, man. But you don't need them. You got me, and Ponyboy and Soda, and the rest of 'em. You understand?"

Johnny finally looked at Dally, with a frown, "yeah, Dally, I get it."

Dally looked at him a minute longer before standing up. He handed the papers and the pictures back to Johnny and said, "I'm off to the Curtis', you comin'?"

"Yeah, might as well," said Johnny, standing up as well and pocketing the papers. He then followed Dally toward the Curtis house.

Johnny knew that Dally meant well, and that he made sense on some level. But the thought of his parents gave him a type of comfort that he couldn't really get from his friends.

The comfort that they brought him, however, conflicted greatly with the emptiness he felt whenever another day passes and they haven't come yet. It was silly for him to believe that they would at all, but it was the only thing that kept him sane in the crazy world that he lived in.

These depressing thought were cut short when he and Dally made it to the Curtis house.

While Johnny was greeting his friends, thousands of miles away, on a hidden island within the Bermuda Triangle, Princess Diana gazed out across the crashing waves in the night, with nothing but a torch in her hand and the moonlight shining off the water for light.

"Diana," she heard a voice from behind her. She turned to the blonde Amazon behind her, "The queen requests an audience with you."

"Thank you, Evadne," said Diana as she made her way back across the beach.

The queen sat on a comfortable sofa in her sitting room when her eldest daughter came in, "You wanted to see me mother," not a question, a statement, given a bland tone that is completely unlike the warm, lively woman that everyone knows of.

"Yes, daughter; sit," she gestured the chair directly across from her. Diana took the seat as the queen pulled her gossamer roes tighter around herself, "You've been unhappy, distant, lately. The rest of us have taken notice and are concerned."

Diana's blank mask fell and her voice cracked as she spoke, "I don't know if I can fight it anymore, this yearning,"

"To be back in the outside world?" asked the queen, sitting up a bit straighter.

"No, it's not that. You see, I've kept something from you since I last returned from the outside world."

"What is it, Diana?" she got up and moved to her daughter's side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Shortly after Steve died, I- I had a child," she let out a deep breath as if that breath was weighing heavily in her chest and she had just now chosen to relieve it.

"A child? How did that happen?"

Diana gave her mother a look and said, "I know it's been several thousand years for you mother, but need I really explain it to you?"

In that time, the queen was feeling several emotions at once. Shock was the most prominent. Behind that, however was worry of how this news would affect her people. Many of the Amazons were childless. Then there was joy that she had a grandchild. Lastly there was confusion, "where is the child?"

"I left him in the care of someone I felt was more suited to raise him," she said, beginning to sob slightly, "After Steve died, I was distraught and- and confused. I felt I had no business taking care of a baby in that state. I didn't think I could give him everything he needed."

"And now you regret your decision?"

Diana looked her mother in the eye, "Yes."

The queen began pacing, thinking about her daughter's confession.

"Mother, I want to go back into the outside world," the queen looked at her daughter, surprised, "I need to know that I made the right choice in leaving him. And I want to meet him. I want to see what kind of person he has become. He is a part of both me and Steve. He was raised by another, but I feel that the bond between us has not yet broken. I don't think that I will ever be whole again until I do this. But I need your blessing first." She looked anxiously to her mother.

"What kind of grandmother would I be if I denied you this," she said, a slight smile making it's way onto her face.

"Oh, mother!" Diana jumped up to wrap her arms around her mother, "I will leave at dawn's first light." She stepped back, her usual smile back on her face. She turned and left, walking back to her chambers to prepare for the journey.

The queen muttered to herself as her daughter left the room, "Perhaps this will be a good thing for you, seeing as how you now know what it's like to have your child out in the cruel world all alone."


	3. Mom

**Mom**

Princess Diana landed her invisible plane in a secluded field just outside of Tulsa. When she left America the last time, she gave most of her possessions and money to charity; luckily though, she kept a few outfits and some money on the off chance that she would one day return. She put on a red dress with white polka dots and a wide skirt with a white scarf tied in a bow around the waist. Black shoes with a white heel and a black hat with a snood holding her hair and a pair of short white gloves completed the look. She should blend in very well. She grabbed her black purse and exited the plane, walking the short distance to town.

"Oh my, things have changed a little bit more than I anticipated," Diana said to herself, quickly removing the hat/snood and gloves. She looked around at how different everything seemed since she was last in America. The women's' hair was all cut different, some built up very high on their heads. Their dresses were higher and tighter than she remembered. Some of them seemed to be made out of some shiny material. The men's suits looked different and they didn't wear hats with them.

As she walked along the sidewalk, she noticed some people looking at her curiously. Looking down at her clothes, she realized that even without the hat and gloves, her outfit looked much more outdated compared to everyone else.

"Well at least I'm not causing as much of a stir as last time," she said, remembering that she was walking around in 1942 in the equivalent of a bathing suit when she first came to America. As she was walking, she noticed a filling station up ahead, called The DX. _Maybe they'll know where the Cades live,_ she thought to herself. When she walked in, avoiding the car that was pulling away from the pumps, she saw a handsome young man walk out from the back. She could tell he wasn't any more than seventeen.

"Darry's on his way to pick me up, so I'll see you in the morning," he called to someone that was obviously still in the back of the store.

"Excuse me," said Diana, drawing the boy's attention.

"Yes, ma'am, what can I do for you?" he said, flashing a smile.

"I'm trying to find some acquaintances of mine, and the last I heard they lived here in Tulsa."

"Not sure how much help I can be; Tulsa's awfully big. But we got a phone book right here," he reached behind the counter and pulled out a thick book with yellow and white pages.

"Thank you," she opened it to the C's and began searching for the Cades.

"Fifteen Cades in Tulsa," she muttered to herself. Luckily though, there was only one listing for Peter and Ursula Cade, "Oh, thank you," she said when the young man handed her a pencil and paper. She quickly copied down the address.

"What's this right here?" she asked, pointing to the series of numbers after the address.

"That? That's the phone number," he replied, confused.

"Oh," she copied that down too. _They've gotten longer._

She turned to the back of the phone book to look at the map and copy directions. Just as she finished writing, there was a _ding_ from the bell above the door, "Hey Soda, you ready?"

"Yeah, Darry; this lady just needed to use the telephone book," Diana turned to see another man, older than the first, and far more muscular. He turned his gaze from the other boy to Diana, where it lingered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you," she said to both men.

"It's no problem ma'am," said the first boy, "I'm Sodapop, this is my brother Darry" Darry held out his hand,

"Diana Prince," she shook his offered hand, "Nice to meet both of you. And thanks for the phonebook, Soda." The three stepped out front of the DX, where Darry's rusty red truck was parked.

"Do you need a ride?" asked Darry, as Soda hopped into the passenger seat.

"Oh, no I'm fine, thank you. It's just a short walk," it really wasn't that short, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

"You in town long?" asked Darry.

"I'm not really sure. It's a long story, but I'm just looking for some old acquaintances."

"Well, we live at the eastern most side of town. And I'm here most every day, so you're welcome to look us up if you need anything else," said Sodapop.

"Thank you," she said, smiling, "I guess I'll be on my way. Goodbye." and she started walking off.

Darry took one last glance at her before climbing into the driver's seat and revving the engine.

"Hey look, they're back," said Tow-Bit as Darry's truck pulled in the front yard. He and Steve were on the porch while Johnny was sitting on the steps and Dally stood next to him. They all got up to run over and greet the two Curtis's.

"Hey, guys," said Soda, cheerfully.

"Hey Soda, Darry," said Steve.

"Don't any of you have your own porches to loiter under?" Darry asked.

"Yeah but my mom got in the mood to sweep all the dirt off the porch and you know I can only take so many swipes from the business end of a broom," said Two-Bit.

"What'd the bossman say about me takin' off today?" asked Steve.

"He said if your grandma dies one more time he's gonna fill her grave with cement," Soda joked, "Too bad you weren't there though. There was a pretty little thing come in just as I was about to leave to use the phone book. Though I think her and Darry were makin' goo goo eyes at each other."

"Shut up, kid," said Darry, grabbing his tool belt out of the back of the truck, "where's Pony?"

"He said something about goin' to a movie," said Two-Bit

"I bet he ain't even done his homework yet," Darry muttered to himself furiously as he walked into the house.

"How's thing with you, Johnny Cade?" asked Soda.

Johnny just shrugged, "Usual; mom yelled herself hoarse all mornin' and then passed out. It'll probably be midnight by the time she wakes up for round two."

At that moment, Diana was standing outside the Cade residence.

"So this is where my son grew up all these years," she said, frowning at the rundown look of the house and the unkempt lawn. She walked up the steps to the porch, which creaked heavily as though they'd give out at any moment. She pulled open the screen door and knocked.

She waited a minute; when there was no answer, she knocked again louder.

"Hello!" she knocked her loudest this time.

"You won't get an answer," she looked to see an elderly woman sitting on the porch of the next house.

Diana stepped off the porch and walked closer to the old woman, "What makes you say that?"

"Because Mr. Cade is at work, and the wife is a lush. She's probably drunk off her ass by now."

Diana was surprised by this news, "What about the boy?"

"Johnny?" she asked, "Poor boy. He doesn't deserve half of what happens to him,"

"What do you mean?" asked Diana, feeling short of breathe hearing this, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll hear the rumors. Most are true; I've got first-hand experience."

"Where-," she took a calming breathe, "Where is he?"

"He spends most of his time at the Curtis house."

"Where is that?"

Twenty minutes later, Diana was walking along, close to tears. The old woman wouldn't give her any details about how Johnny was treated all his life, so her mind was forced to make things up. This was not what she had hoped for.

She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of tires screeching. Up ahead she saw a group of teenagers in letterman jackets jumping out of a car and attacking a young boy.

"How about we give you a haircut, greaser," one of the boys pulled out a switchblade.

"Darry!" the boy was shouting. The older boys continued to taunt him and the one with the switchblade cut his neck.

Diana ran behind one of the nearby houses. She held her arms out to her sides and began spinning.

"Darry! Help!"

"Somebody shut him up!" said the boy with the blade. One of the other boys shoved a handkerchief in his mouth.

"_Let- Him- Go!_" The socs and Ponyboy all turned to see a woman dressed in a red and blue bathing suit with a gold breastplate standing with her hands on her hips.

The soc just stared in confusion for a moment before one of them said, "It's just some greaser chick! One of you, teach her a lesson!"

The one unfortunate enough to be the first within arm's reach of her got a swift palm thrust in his chest and was sent flying over the car. She heard more footsteps and voices running toward them, but she wasn't worried about them. She took one of the boys kneeling over the younger one and threw him back out of her way. The others all got scared and ran to their car, while the one holding the knife stood up and tried to slash at her. She caught his arm in one hand and squeezed a pressure point to make him drop the knife; he tried to punch at her with his free arm, which she easily caught as well. She then knocked him back where his back hit his car. He pulled open the door and got in quickly. It was then that she noticed the new arrivals. They were a group of boys with worn clothes and slicked back hair. A couple of them tried to crowd the car, and lunged through the windows. The car sped away, with the new boys chasing after it. Diana walked over to the boy on the ground.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Ponyboy!" she heard a familiar voice and then none other than Soda crouched down next to the boy, "You ok?"

"Yeah," Pony said in a shaky voice.

"They pulled a blade on you?" Pony shook his head, looking away, but Soda took hold of his chin and made Pony look at him, "They ain't gonna hurt you no more." He pulled his brother to his feet.

"Soda?"

"Diana?" Soda's mouth dropped when he saw her.

"_You_ fought all them socs off my brother?" Darry said when he saw who Soda was talking to.

"If by soc you mean those boys in the car, then yes," the other greasers, except two, came over to hear what she had to say about fighting off a group of socs. Even Two-Bit was speechless, "I didn't think it was very fair for all those almost grown men to gang up on one small boy."

"Thanks, ma'am," said Pony.

Diana smiled at him and said, "Call me Diana."

"Mom?" Diana, The Curtis's, Steve and Two-Bit all turned to see Johnny standing next to a disbelieving Dallas. Johnny couldn't take his eyes off of his mother.

**I tried to do some research for this chapter. I knew that the clothing styles would have changed between 1949 and 1965. It wasn't too hard to find some examples of 1940's clothing, even though it took some time. But all I could find on 60's clothing was vinyl dresses and gogo boots. They did not look like that in the outsiders movie. So I'm hoping I was accurate in what little clothing descriptions I did.

Secondly I don't know a thing about telephone books in the 60's or phone numbers in the 40's or 60's. But I think they were shorter in the 40's.

Last, I don't remember if Johnny's parents were given first names in the book, so I looked on Wikipedia on a list of Disney villains and picked two. Peter from Pete, the big cat guy, and Ursula of course from Little Mermaid.


	4. You're My Mom

**You're My Mom**

As soon as Diana looked at the boy, she knew it could only be her son. Standing before her could easily have been a younger version of Steve Trevor.

"What'd you say, Johnny?" asked Ponyboy, confused.

Johnny seemed to come out of a daze and shook his head, "M-my mom, she told me to be home early. I should probably get going," he said lamely to cover his slip, though he didn't look away from Diana the whole time.

"When has she ever wanted you home early? Or at all?" said Dally; his disbelief at seeing Johnny's real mother and what she could do was replaced by his usual uncaring demeanor. Johnny flinched visibly at his callous words and finally looked away from Diana to stare at the ground as he scuffed it with the toe of his worn down shoe. The rest of the gang all sent Dally a glare.

"Are you Peter and Ursula Cade's son?" asked Diana, for appearances. Johnny was slightly startled, which was easy to do to him.

"Yes ma'am," he said quietly.

"I'm an old acquaintance of your parents; it's nice to meet you," she shook his hand. "I was at you house earlier, though, and there didn't seem to be anyone home."

"Mom was probably passed out… I mean she was taking a nap," he said quickly.

"Well if you're headed back that way, anyway, why don't I walk with you?" she said kindly.

"Alright," said Johnny.

"You gonna be alright?" asked Pony.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Well we oughtta be headed back to the house now. You got homework," he added to Pony boy, "Thank you so much for your help," he said to Diana.

"It was no problem," she insisted. After a few similar thanks, they all parted ways. Dally seemed reluctant, and sent a glare of his own at Diana. To his surprise, she didn't flinch or look away. She stared him back in the eye.

"Later, Johnny," said Dally, gruffly, and set off after the others.

Diana and Johnny began walking in the opposite direction.

"Hold on a minute," said Diana, and Johnny came to a halt as she walked into the alley where she changed clothes earlier. Jonny was surprised when she came back out, barely a minute later, in her polka-dot dress.

"How'd you change so fast?" he asked.

"It's a trick I learned back home. Maybe I'll teach you sometime," she replied with a smile. Her expression became a little more serious though as she said, "You know who I am, don't you?" Johnny nodded slightly.

"You're my mom," he said.

"I'm not entirely sure I've earned that title," said Diana.

They stood awkwardly for a moment before Johnny did the one thing he wanted to do since he found out he was adopted: he stepped forward slowly and hugged his mother. When she realized what was happening, Diana wrapped her own arms around him tightly, as though she'd never let go. He noticed she seemed to smell like a mixture of coconuts, bananas and sea water.

Johnny pulled back reluctantly and made a vain attempt to wipe a few stray tears off of his face. He was still a greaser after all, and greasers don't get sappy.

Diana noticed and laughed a little as she wiped away a few of her own. She then took a good look at her son's face for the first time.

"How did you become so tan? You don't get that from me or your father," she said teasingly. She ruffled his hair playfully, and then pulled back her hand in slight distaste as it was covered in grease. She pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the grease off as Johnny fixed his hair, mildly annoyed that it was messed with.

"I spend a lot of time outside," he said when his hair was fixed to his satisfaction. _Not by choice,_ he failed to add. Truthfully his dark complexion came from the many years that he was either kicked out of the house or just afraid to go home.

Diana noticed something even more troubling, "Where'd you get that scar?" she asked, referring to the scar that ran from the left side of his forehead to the top of his left cheekbone.

Johnny was visibly uncomfortable in talking about it, "It's nothin'," he said as he started walking, nowhere in particular in mind. He noticed the insistent look on her face as she walked alongside him, he added, "I just got jumped by some socs a few months ago. One of them wore a lot of rings on his fingers."

Anger like she'd never known before flared up inside of Diana, "Were they the ones that attacked your friend earlier,"

"No, they were different," Johnny said quickly.

"Does that sort of thing happen often?" she asked. Johnny shrugged his shoulders, examining his shoes, "Who are they?" she demanded.

Johnny took a second to answer, "We call them socs. They're the rich kids from the West side of town. They drive around in fancy cars and pick fights with us greasers."

"Why do the socs pick fights with you?"

"I don't know really," he shrugged his shoulders again, "I guess 'cause we don't got as much money as them, and everyone thinks we're bad."

"Why would anyone think that you're bad if the socs are the ones jumping people?" she asked.

"It ain't just the socs jumpin' people; they just never get caught."

Diana shook her head, "That's so wrong,"

"It's all we know," said Johnny bitterly. Diana mistook the tone as being directed at her, and immediately felt guilty.

Seeing how upset his mother was, Johnny decided to change the subject, "So how's you do all that? You threw those socs around like bean bags."

Diana smiled at the question, her gaze fixed forward as they came into the main part of town, "I'll tell you because it's a part of your heritage; but you'll have to keep an open mind,"

"Okay," he said eagerly.

"What do you know about Greek Mythology?"

"Not a lot," said Johnny, glancing at Diana as they continued walking along the side of the road. They failed to notice the stares they were receiving; an attractive and stylish young woman like her didn't normally interact with hoodlums.

"So… how old are you?" asked Johnny after she finished telling him all about Paradise Island and the Amazons.

"Almost Two-Thousand and Fifteen," she said matter-of-factly.

Johnny was slowly taking in all of the new information. It was hard to believe. But he witnessed her fighting off those socs, which was amazing on its own. Speaking of which, "Why can't I do what you can do?" he asked.

"The island's environment is what gave us the purity of mind, body and spirit to reach our potential. It took lots of training and concentration for us to get where we are now. But when we leave the island, that potential is lost, and we have to rely on our magic belts to maintain our strength and agility."

"So I'd have to be trained on the island and get one of those belts to be strong like you?"

"Yes, I believe so," she said, "Of course we'd have to discuss it with the Cades first,"

"What?" Johnny panicked slightly as he finally realized where they were headed, "Why are we here?"

Diana stopped when they were just a few feet from the fence around the Cade residence.

"I'm just going to talk to the Cades."

"Why?"

"I want to get to know the people that raised you all of these years," she said, giving him at least part of the truth. She walked through the gate and was about to start up the steps, but Johnny ran ahead of her.

"Wait!" he said, almost frantic, "Why don't you let me go in first. So I can get them ready for the news."

"Why would you need to do that?" she asked.

"Please, just let me go in first," he said in a quieter voice, not wanting to alert his adoptive parents.

Johnny's behavior wasn't escaping Diana's instincts at all. Every fiber of her being was telling her to take him away from this house and never to let him return. But instincts could be wrong. And she hadn't heard anything definitive about what kind of people the Cades were.

"Alright, but if you're not back in five minutes, I'm coming in," she said, her voice stern.

Johnny nodded and then walked up the steps and through the front door, which opened into the living room. Once inside, he instinctively looked around for any signs of movement. He relaxed slightly when he didn't see any bottles or fists coming at him. He walked to the doorway to the kitchen and tensed when he saw his adoptive father standing with the refrigerator door open, downing half a bottle of beer before stopping.

"Where the hell were you?" asked the drunken man when he noticed Johnny.

"I was with my friends," he replied in a quiet voice.

"So you hang out with that trash, and I'm expected to work my ass off to provide for you. Why don't you get a job?" he took a swig of his beer, "Or are you too stupid to know how to do anything?"

Johnny didn't answer; he just stared at the floor. Before he knew what was happening, he had been shoved against the wall. He felt some of the sheet rock give way where his back hit.

"I asked you a question boy!" a fist connected with his jaw, sending him flying at the table, where his forehead collided. He blacked out for a second, but came to when he was pulled to his feet by his shirt. He heard fabric ripping.

"You need to learn some respect," said his 'dad', pulling back his fist for another blow. Just when he was going to bash the boy's face in, his fist was caught in a bone-cracking grip. There was a powerful tug as he was spun around to face not a princess, not an Amazon, but a mother.


	5. The Plane

**The Plane**

Just when he was going to bash the boy's face in, his fist was caught in a bone-cracking grip. There was a powerful tug as he was spun around to face not a princess, not an Amazon, but a mother.

Diana squeezed his fist a little bit harder, causing him to let out a gasp of pain and sink to his knees, grabbing his wrist.

"Let me go!" he groaned with his teeth clenched; Diana scowled down at the man with a hatred she had never known in two thousand years.

"Don't you ever touch my son again," she said in a low, dangerous voice. She let go of his hand, and brought the back of her own hand down across his face. He fell to the floor, out cold.

"Johnny," she said gently as she knelt down next to her son, her face now set in concern, "Can you hear me?"

Johnny tried to nod his head, but the movement caused him to feel nauseous. Her voice sounded distant, and he was seeing double.

When he could barely nod his head, Diana scooped him up into her arms, "I'm gonna get you out of here."

Johnny could feel the fog overtaking his mind, nut he managed to say two words to her before he slipped into unconsciousness, "Thanks, mom."

_****_

"That sure was somethin' today wasn't it," said Two-bit as he plopped down on the sofa, beer in hand.

"Yeah, it'd figure the kid would need some broad to save his ass," said Steve, earning a chuckle from Two-bit and a glare from Soda.

"Cut him some slack. He's only fourteen and those were a bunch of socs."

"_She_ didn't seem to have too much trouble. It's kinda freaky," said Steve.

Soda was about to respond when Pony walked in.

"Hey, Soda, do you know where dad kept all of those World War II articles? The ones he collected when he was enlisted.

"What are you lookin' for those for?" he asked.

"I got to write a short paper on something from World War II for history class."

Soda thought for a second, "Gee, I don't really know. Maybe try lookin' in the bedroom closet," Pony started to walk to the back of the house when Soda added, "Don't make a mess or Darry'll tan _both_ our hides." Then he turned back to Two-bit and Steve.

"Speakin' of Darry," began Two-bit before taking a swig of beer, "I think he's gonna have his hands full with that one."

"What're you talkin' about?" asked Soda.

"I'm talkin' about how after he got over bein' surprised at what she did to those socs, I coulda sworn his eyes were gonna pop out of his head from starin' at her so hard."

"Yeah, I see what you meant about him makin' goo-goo eyes at her this afternoon," said Steve.

Soda laughed as he said, "That don't mean anything's gonna happen. He's way too busy durin' the day, and then he's too tired when he gets home. It's kinda sad when you think of it,"

"Which means he's due for some action, right?" said Steve, while Two-bit laughed drunkenly, falling out of his seat.

"What are you three jabberin' about in here?" asked Darry, stepping in from the kitchen, where he had been cooking dinner.

Before Soda could make something up, Two-bit, while still laughing, said, "We were just talkin about the chances of you getting' with that girl in the bathing suit,"

Darry rolled his eyes, "Idiots," he muttered before saying, "Come on in the kitchen. Dinner's ready."

"Great!" said Soda, jumping up and walking into the kitchen.

"Where's Pony?" asked Darry.

"He's in mom and dad's room," Soda called from the kitchen table.

"Pony! Dinner!" Darry called to the back of the house.

"Be there in a minute!" Pony called back from where he kneeled on the floor in the closet of his parents' old room. He looked wide-eyed at the newspaper clipping in his hand.

The article said in bold letters _**President Honors Wonder Woman**_ and beneath that _**Wonder Woman Seizes German Spy Ring.**_

_Best Wishes, Darryl. Stay Safe, Much Love, Wonder Woman_

There was a picture with the article…

"Whoa," said an astonished Ponyboy.

_****_

"_Johnny,_" he heard a voice echoing from somewhere. Johnny didn't know where he was, but wherever it was, it was warm and comfortable and safe.

"_Wake up, Johnny,_" he could feel himself floating somewhere between a dream and reality, but he wasn't ready to wake up and loose that comfort that his dreams held.

"Johnny," the voice was clear now, and gentle. Opening his eyes, he saw a face hovering above his own. He soon recognized it as Diana, his mother. Today she was wearing a dark blue pencil dress, "How do you feel?"

"Everything's a little foggy, but other than that I guess I'm ok," he said hoarsely.

"Do you think you can sit up?" she asked.

"I think so," he said. He started trying on his own, but Diana helped so that he wouldn't strain himself too much.

"What happened?" he asked, touching his forehead and feeling a bandage there.

"You passed out because of your wound," she replied, "I cleaned it and dressed it. You had a mild concussion, but nothing too serious. You slept all night."

"How do you know all that?" he asked, still touching his forehead.

"Back home, I received some basic medical training," she held up a bag of breakfast pastries, "I brought some breakfast while you were asleep."

"Great," said Johnny. He stopped touching his bandage and took a look at his surroundings, "Where are we?"

"We're inside my plane," said Diana.

"Your _plane_?" asked Johnny in part disbelief and part amusement.

"Yes," she said, smiling.

The interior of the plane was about ten feet by twenty-six and seemed to be made of some kind of dense glass or crystal that gave off a soft blue-white glow. He was sitting on a small but comfortable cot. Opposite him was an identical cot, while Diana was sitting in a chair next to him. At the front of the room were another chair and the plane's controls, though they were like none he'd ever seen in a plane before. Admittedly though he'd only seen pictures of planes before so his knowledge of planes wasn't much to go by. He could see a field outside through the windshield. There was also a door behind him, for storage he supposed.

"It's a special plane. It can fly very fast and it can turn invisible,"

"You're lyin'," he said, humorously.

"I most certainly am not," she walked to the controls and did something, he couldn't see from where he was. A second later, the walls seemed to disappear and it was as if he were just sitting in the middle of a field.

"Wow," he said as Diana turned the walls back to their opaque state.

"Let's eat," she said, still smiling.

**Sorry if the description of the inside of the plane is too similar to something from Superman's Fortress of Solitude. It's just how I imagine an invisible plane turned solid would be like inside.

Also there's something I keep forgetting to mention. Diana said that Johnny looked like Steve Trevor, who is his biological father in this story. I looked it up and found a picture of Lyle Waggoner and Ralph Macchio who play Steve Trevor and Johnny Cade, respectively, and I thought they actually do look very similar.

Look at these side by side and see if you can see it:

/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/ralph_

.?size=67&uid=5543eac5-4b04-4c34-8c35-649e41362ecc


	6. Come With Me

**Come With Me**

"Mom?" Johnny said, feeling only slightly awkward using the word as he stepped out of the plane. His mother, Diana, had been standing outside in her red and blue uniform, staring up at the blue sky with her arms folding casually.

"Yes, Johnny?" she turned to look at him.

"Why're you standin' out here?"

"Oh I was just thinking about how nice the weather seems today," she gestured the blue early-afternoon sky, "These are the most desirable flying conditions."

Johnny perked up and asked excitedly, "Are we goin' flying?"

Diana smiled in amusement, "I was actually about to ask you about that."

She led him back into the plane, where they sat down facing each other, "Do you remember when I told you about Paradise Island?"

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me a lot, other than it's where you all live and that it's pure or something," he replied, curious about her home.

Diana smiled again, "I really think you'd like it. There's a white, sandy beach with rolling blue waves that sparkle like crystals in the sunlight. That's where I first saw your father," Johnny smiled widely at this, "It's always warm, with lush, green forests. We have beautiful, open houses made from carved marble. We spend our days swimming and competing in Olympic Games. We live in peace and harmony."

"That sounds nice," he said, trying to picture the perfect world that she came from.

"Would you like to see it?" she asked, cautiously.

"Really, you'd take me there?"

"Of course," she said, and then her face took on a more serious expression, "Johnny, I want you to come and live there, with me."

Johnny couldn't believe his ears, "Come live with you?" He could never have imagined he'd get this kind of opportunity. To live in a place with no socs, never having to worry about getting jumped or beaten would be the best thing in the world.

"You'd love it there, Johnny," said Diana, thinking she had convinced him, "And your grandmother is looking forward to meeting you."

"I have a grandmother there?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, she's the queen of the amazons."

"The queen…"

"And you have an aunt, my younger sister Drusilla."

This was a lot for him to take in. He had a whole family he didn't know about. A _royal _family and they wanted him to live with them on Paradise Island. They wanted him. He couldn't wait to tell Pony…

"What about my friends?" he asked, his heart sinking in his chest.

The smile faded from Diana's face, "Unfortunately, if you do come and live with us on Paradise Island you would need to leave your old life behind you. I can't guarantee that you'd ever see them again," she said sadly.

"No," Johnny said, his voice strained.

"What?" Diana asked, surprised.

"I can't leave Pony and Dally and the gang. They're my only friends. I couldn't live without them."

"I can't leave you here."

"You did it once before," Johnny said back before he could stop himself. He regretted it when he saw the hurt look cross her face.

"Please, Johnny, you'd be happy there; you'd be safe," Diana pleaded, "How could you want to stay here with the Cades, and people that would beat you for no other reason than how much or how little money you have?"

"I've lived here my whole life," he was fighting back tears now, "and I did it without you," He turned and ran out of the plane.

"Wait, Johnny!" Diana jumped out after him. He stopped briefly when she called to him.

He turned to face her, "You know, all these years I thought how great it'd be if I met you. I wanted you to come and take me from the Cades and I'd finally be happy. But I was happy this whole time already. I had my friends with me. Now I wish I never met you." He ran quickly from her, but she didn't bother going after him this time.

"I never should have come," she turned back into the plane and shut the door. Soon after, the plane lifted from the ground and took off, headed for Paradise Island.

Johnny was out of breath and clutching his side by the time he made it to the Curtis house. He swiped at the tear tracks on his face before walking up the steps and knocking. He waited a few seconds before the door opened and Pony stepped out.

"Hey Johnny," Pony said, "Something wrong?"

"No," Johnny tried to say, but his voice cracked slightly. He cleared his throat, "No, nothin's wrong." He put on a fake, strained smile.

"What happened to your head?"

Johnny reached up to his forehead and felt the bandage and a pang in his chest, when he remembered that his mother put it there, "It's nothing; my old man, you know."

"Right," Pony knew there was more to it than that, with the head wound and the tear tracks, but didn't ask anymore; Johnny obviously didn't want to talk about it.

"You're not gonna believe what I found out last night," Pony said, suddenly excited.

"What's that?"

"I'll wait to tell you and Dally at the same time. I was just about to meet 'im in town and kill some time, then catch a double feature at the drive-in. Wanna come along?" Pony asked.

"Sure," said Johnny. After Pony closed up the house, they began the long walk into town.

When they got to the DX, which is where they were meeting Dally, he was leaning outside the building with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Pony, Johnny," he greeted them, though he seemed a little more detached than usual.

"Hey, Dally," they replied, though Johnny avoided his eyes.

"I'm gonna go ask Soda for some money, be right out," said Pony. He walked into the station, leaving Johnny and Dally alone. He seemed to be examining Johnny while puffing on his smoke.

"Care for a smoke, Johnny?"

"Yeah, sure Dally," Dally handed him a cigarette and lit it for him. Johnny instantly felt more relaxed as he inhaled the smoke.

"So what happened to your head?"

Johnny didn't answer right away. He let the smoke soothe him a little more and then said, "My dad wasn't too happy when I came home last night."

Dally nodded in understanding, "Who patched you up?"

"My mo- I mean Diana," Johnny said, "From what I remember before I blacked out, she pulled him off me and smacked him around."

Dally let out a bark of laughter when he heard this, "I wish I coulda seen that. So how did things go with _mommy_?" he asked sarcastically.

Johnny looked down as he stomped out his cigarette, "Pretty good at first. She told me about where she lives. Turns out I got a grandma and an aunt there."

"That's just great," said Dally, again sarcastically, "So what happened then?"

"She wanted me to leave with her."

"She _what_?" Dally's outburst made Johnny jump a little.

"She told me she wanted me to come live with her. She said she wanted to keep me safe and happy but I might not be able to see you guys again. So I told her I wished I didn't meet her and ran off."

Dally angrily stomped out his smoke, "What did I tell you, Johnny? You don't need her. Then the minute she comes around, tryin' to be mommy dearest like she didn't get rid of you, you let her. Look where it got you now."

"I know, Dally. You don't got to tell me," Johnny said quietly, "I don't really feel like talkin' about it now."

"Whatever," said Dally, lighting another smoke.

Pony came back out then, "Soda gave me five dollars. What do you guys feel like doin'?"

"Beats me," said Johnny. Dally shrugged.

"Oh yeah," said Pony, pulling something out of his pocket and unfolding it, "Remember that lady that saved me yesterday?"

Dally looked pointedly at Johnny, who said, "Yeah, what about her?"

"I found this in my dad's closet," he handed Johnny the article. He looked at it for a few minutes and handed it to Dally.

"What's this?" he asked.

"That's an article from World War II. They used to call her Wonder Woman. She doesn't look any older."

Dally handed the article back, "It's not her," he said simply.

"What're you talkin' about? Look at it. She looks exactly the same. And she's even wearing that bathing suit costume."

"What an imagination you got kid. She's probably a relative."

"But…" Pony began, to be cut off by Johnny.

"Come on guys, let's go find somethin' to do," he said.

So they set off; an angry Dally, a sad Johnny and a confused Ponyboy.


	7. Trouble Unfolding

Some of the dialogue in this chapter comes from the Outsiders book/movie.

* * *

><p><strong>Trouble Unfolding<strong>

Diana was sitting quietly on the sofa in her room, her pale green robes draping over the side and back. A breeze swept through her hair from the open window as she gazed out over the ancient city below. She was pulled from her silent musings, however, when she heard a light knocking on her door.

"Come in," she said after clearing her throat.

"Hi, Diana," her sister, Drusilla, said as she walked into the room.

"What are you doing up so late?" asked Diana.

"I'd heard you were back, and I saw the torch light through your window. I just wanted to see if you were alright."

"Of course I am…" she trailed off, however, when her sister gave her a look, "No, actually, I'm not."

Diana moved her legs as Drusilla took a seat next to her on the sofa. "Talk to me."

"Things are so much worse than I ever could have imagined. I thought I was doing the right thing when I left him with the Cades."

"What happened?" asked Dru.

Diana took a deep breathe, "The Cades are horrible. When I went to talk to them, the man was drunk and began beating Johnny. And just yesterday, a group of boys attacked one of his friends with a knife. Johnny was attacked in a similar way a few weeks ago."

Though she was shocked by what she heard, Drusilla remained silent.

"I wanted to bring him home with me, to Paradise Island, but he didn't want to."

"Why not?" asked Dru.

"He didn't want to leave his friends. Now he hates me. He thinks I abandoned him, and I did."

"You couldn't have known these things would happen."

Diana shook her head and said quietly, "I was his mother. He was a part of me and I left him there with all that pain and unhappiness. His very life has become an example of the worst qualities of mankind that we came here to escape. And it's all because of me."

Drusilla took her sister's hand, "Maybe it has been up until now. But you can change his future. You can't leave things like this with him. He may not want to live with you but that doesn't mean that he doesn't want to know you. You have a chance to be a real mother to him now. Don't let it pass."

Diana wiped her eyes and smiled. "When did you become so wise?"

Drusilla laughed, "I get it from my big sister."

The sisters hugged each other tightly for a moment before Diana pulled away. "Would you like to come with me to Tulsa and meet your nephew."

Drusilla grinned, "I'd love to. But don't we have to ask mother?"

"Of course," Diana stood up, but suddenly became weak-kneed.

"Diana," Drusilla said, concerned, as she stood to support her sister. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"I don't know. I just had the strangest feeling." She tensed up, "Johnny… we've got to go. Get ready and hurry to the plane!"

"But Diana, what about mother?"

"There's no time! Johnny's in trouble!"

"Alright, I'll put on my uniform and meet you there." She ran out of the room.

"I just hope we're not too late," said Diana as the feeling of unease grew.

* * *

><p>Ponyboy shivered as he and Johnny sat by the fire in the lot.<p>

"You cold, Pony?" asked Johnny.

"A little, I should've remembered my jacket." Johnny scooted over next to him and put an arm around him. "Thanks."

They sat for a few minutes staring up at the sky.

"That was a tough car," said Johnny. They were at the movies that night and met two soc girls, Cherry and Marcia. Then their boyfriends showed up in a Mustang and they went home with them. "Mustangs are tough."

"They were big-time socs alright," said Ponyboy.

They were quiet for a few more minutes, and Johnny thought about what happened that morning with his real mother. He felt bad that he left her the way he did. All she wanted was to take him home with her to a place where he'd be safe, and loved. But then how could she ask him to leave the gang. She gave him away to people that didn't really care about him. How could someone do that to their kid?

"It's always the same, isn't it?" Pony didn't answer. Suddenly Johnny sat up with his face in his hands as tears began to flow. "I don't know if I can take this anymore! I'll kill myself or something!"

Pony sat up and put a hand on his back, "Don't talk like that Johnny. You can't kill yourself."

"I've gotta do something."

They lay back again. Johnny continued to cry, not caring that Ponyboy could see. He knew Pony wouldn't make fun of him.

"Do you think there could be a place without… greasers or socs, where people are just plain people?"

"I think it's like that out in the country," said Pony.

"… or in Paradise," said Johnny.

As he lay there, Johnny began to imagine himself in a lush green forest, with sunshine pouring in through the trees like a thick rain.

"_Joooohnnyyyy…"_ He turned to see Diana standing in a nearby field .She was wearing a flowing purple dress, and there were flowers in her long dark hair.

"Mom," he said with quiet longing.

"_Come with me, Johnny_."

He began running toward her. The long grass of the field tangled around his feet as he ran. Her arms were outstretched, ready to embrace him, but she was still so far away. It seemed to take forever to get to her, but just before their hands touched, he felt someone shaking him.

"Johnny, Johnny, wake up!"

"What is it?" he asked sleepily. Pony's face blurred into view.

"We fell asleep. I gotta get home or Darry'll kill me."

"Okay, Pony, I'm gonna sleep out here tonight. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Johnny," said Pony before he ran off in the direction of his house. "If you get cold, come to my house."

"Alright, I will."

He lay back once more and tried to sleep again, wanting more than anything to see his mother in the beautiful field again. He had just begun to doze off, however, when he heard someone running toward him.

"Come on, Johnny, we're running away!" said Pony.

"Pony!" Johnny yelled after him, jumping to his feet. "Pony, what's the matter?"

They ran as far as the park before they stopped, breathing heavily.

"Now will you tell me what's going on?" asked Johnny when he caught his breath.

"He hit me," Pony said, his eyes tearing. He was bordering on hysterics.

"What?" Johnny asked in disbelief.

"Darry hit me. We used to get along fine before mom and dad died, and now he can't stand me."

Johnny didn't know what to say to comfort him, so he said, "Let's take a walk through the park. Maybe you'll calm down enough to go home."

They started walking. "You got a smoke, Johnny?" asked Pony.

"Yeah, Pony, here you go." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and handed him one.

"Thanks." They continued their walk, unaware that there was a Mustang following them.


	8. In The Park

**In The Park**

Johnny looked down at his hands, stained red with blood, human blood.

_I killed him_. He thought over and over again.

He had taken a life. He did it deliberately. No matter how much he tried to justify it, say that he was saving his friend, it would not change the fact that he had just committed murder.

"Johnny?" he heard Pony say as he woke from unconsciousness.

"I k-killed him," he stammered, still looking at his hands. "I killed that boy."

Pony looked at his friend and then at the body draped over the side of the fountain, still dripping blood onto the ground.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," said Pony.

"Go ahead man, I won't look." Johnny leaned over and, with shaky hands, cleaned his switchblade on the grass.

"I guess you really did kill him, huh Johnny?" said Pony, tears pouring down his young face.

_What are we going to do?_ He couldn't go to prison. He'd never survive there. Even if he did, he'd end up like Dally. That was no way to go through life.

_What about Paradise?_ His mother had offered for him to come live with her…

"Mom?"

"Huh, Johnny?"

He didn't answer. I'm a killer, a bad kid, a no good low-down greaser. How could someone as kind and pure as Diana ever love him now? He had a chance at a mother's love and he threw it away. He'd never get it back.

"Come on, Johnny, we gotta get out of here," said Ponyboy, tugging on his sleeve. "Come on."

Johnny stood up slowly, his head spinning. He was in a daze.

"Come on, man, let's find Dally. He'll know what to do," said Pony in a cracked voice.

"Yeah…" said Johnny, "What would Dally do?"

"Are we there yet?" asked Drusilla, looking out over the land stretched out underneath them.

"Dru, we're close, so will you please stop asking me?" said Diana.

Ever since they left Paradise Island, the feeling that her child was in trouble kept growing. Now she was dreading what she would find when she returned to Tulsa. She was already wearing her Wonder Woman outfit, while Drusilla had her own suit on. It consisted of blue pants and red blouse decorated with stars and red boots. She also had her own tiara, bracelets and belt.

After a few more minutes, she flew the plane down until they came to a steady landing in the field near the park.

"Let's hurry."

"You never told me what's wrong," said Drusilla as the neared the park on foot.

"I just had a terrible feeling that something is wrong with Johnny."

They stepped through the trees into the park and spotted the fountain in the middle.

"What's that?" asked Drusilla.

"Oh no," said Diana, seeing the human form draped over the side of the fountain, blood seeping onto the ground.

Both women rushed over to the figure and pulled him onto the ground and laid him on his back.

"Who did this to him?" Drusilla asked.

"I don't know," said Diana, checking the boy's pulse. "He's still alive, but barely."

"What should we do?"

Diana didn't answer at first. She scooped him up into her arms, careful of his wounds.

"Follow me," she began running as fast as she could in the direction of the plane.

She put him down on the medical table once inside.

"We need to work fast. He's already lost a lot of blood."

"Tell me what I should do," said Drusilla.

Diana grabbed onto the collar of the boys shirt and ripped it open. "Help me get this off of him."

They pulled his arms out of the sleeves and threw the bloody rags onto the floor of the plane. Diana turned him over onto his side to examine his wounds. There were several stab wounds on his back. They were small, as if from a small, thin blade. Blood was still pouring out.

"Get me some gauze to stop the bleeding," said Diana, covering the wounds with her hand and pressing on them. Drusilla looked around the small compartment until she saw a box of medical supplies. She opened it and began looking for the gauze.

"Hurry!"

"Here it is," said Dru, pulling it out and handing it to her sister. Diana took it and pressed it into his wounds.

"We'll need to cauterize it. Go outside and start a fire."

"Yes, Diana," Drusilla left the plan and quickly gathered some wood and dry leaves. Once she had them in a pile and cleared the surrounding area, she struck her bracelets together. This created a small spark. She did it several times over the pile of leaves and wood until the sparks caught the leaves and they began to burn.

Next, she looked around the field until she saw a fallen tree branch. She checked it for its thickness and stability. "This one won't work." She threw it down and began her search again.

"This'll do," she said when she found a more sturdy branch. She removed her tiara and used its sharp edges to begin scraping off the bark and carving the end into a point.

"I found a branch outside. I formed it into a poker and set it in the fire," said Drusilla.

"Thank you," said Diana, looking to see if the bleeding had stopped.

"How long had he been out there?" Drusilla asked.

"It couldn't have been long. Maybe less than an hour… maybe two."

"If we had gotten there sooner, we may have been able to stop this from happening," said Dru.

"We can't think about that now. Bring me the poker." Drusilla rushed back outside and retrieved the poker. The tip was glowing red. She brought it inside.

"Here," she handed it to Diana.

"Hold him down in case he reacts." Drusilla put her hands on both of his shoulders and pressed firm but gently.

Diana held the poker up near his wounds and without hesitating, she shoved it in. Drusilla grimaced at the unpleasant task and the smell of burnt flesh. Though it must've been very painful though, the boy didn't even twitch.

"There," said Diana when she was done.

"Will he be alright?" asked Drusilla.

Diana threw down the stick and sighed. "I don't know if there is any internal damage done. He may need a blood transfusion, too. But he should be fine, at least for now."

Drusilla nodded, "What should we do now?"

Diana stood up and began walking to the front of the plane, "We need to get him to the nearest hospital."


	9. Good Cop, Bad Cop

**Good Cop, Bad Cop**

"Johnny," Johnny felt someone shaking him, "Hey, Johnny wake up."

"What is it?" Johnny had fallen asleep to the rumbling of the train. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and saw that it was daytime outside.

"We gotta get off the train," Pony helped him up. Johnny stretched his back, groaning as he heard a satisfying crack. His body ached from sleeping on the hard floor.

"Alright, let's go."

They stepped up to the edge, looking out over the land rushing past beneath them.

"Don't land on your feet. Soon as you hit the ground, start crouching and rolling away," said Ponyboy.

"Okay, on three," said Pony.

"One-," they said together, "Two- Three!"

They both leapt off the train down a grassy hill.

Diana sat with her arms crossed, waiting calmly for news on the boy's condition.

They had no difficulty getting him admitted, at least not after the initial reactions to their sudden appearances and outfits. Once the nurses and staff saw how badly he was injured, he was immediately taken in for emergency surgery.

Now they were in the waiting room, gaining strange glances from the few others waiting to be seen or waiting on loved ones. Drusilla was nervously pacing the floor, shivering even though they weren't cold.

"Dru, that's not helping anything. And I don't think the custodian will appreciate you marking up the floor."

Drusilla walked quickly to her sister and took the seat next to her.

"I really don't like this place. It's too- clean, too- bright… and quiet. There's just this aura here that's very off-putting."

"I understand. Many people become nervous in hospitals."

"But why is it like this? Isn't it supposed to be a place of healing, a happy place?"

Diana nodded. "That's true. But not everyone can be healed, or not completely. Many who come into this place may never leave alive."

Drusilla shuddered at the thought. "You mean like the boy we brought in?"

Diana didn't answer. She just stared into space, looking worried.

"What's wrong?"

Diana took a moment to gather her thoughts. "When I first saw that boy lying there, for just a split second, I thought… I thought it was Johnny."

Drusilla put an arm around her sister's shoulder. "That's a horrible trick of the mind for a mother."

Diana laughed humorlessly, "I can't even imagine what it must've been like for mother when I was away during the war."

"Listen, we've done all we can here. Why don't we go look for Johnny now?"

Diana shook her head. "It wouldn't be right to leave him now. We brought him in; they're gonna want to know what happened to him."

"But we don't know anything beyond where it happened."

"Still, we need to wait. Even though I worry, I know Johnny is strong. Stronger than any child should have to be."

Drusilla didn't know how to reply. She just nodded and sat back in her seat.

"Wonder Woman?"

The sisters looked up and saw a police officer approaching. He was staring at them in amazement.

"I've been expecting you, officer," said Diana as she stood to shake his hand.

"I guess you don't recognize me." He smiled nervously. Diana frowned in confusion.

"No, I'm sorry; I…" she shook her head slightly, but stopped when she got a better look at his face. "Actually, you do look familiar."

"I'm Tom Belford. My father was the warden at the Fort Meyer Penitentiary."

Diana gasped, placing her fingertips over her mouth as she remembered.

"Oh my… Tommy? You're all grown up!" She laughed and pulled him into a hug.

He chuckled, "You haven't changed a bit."

Drusilla cleared her throat loudly. "Oh," Diana stepped back and gestured at her. "This is my sister."

Tom smiled at the younger woman and shook her hand, "Yes, I've heard of Wonder Girl. I haven't heard anything about either of you in a long time, though."

"We went back home after the war," said Drusilla.

"What brings you back now?"

"It's a long story," said Diana.

"Oh, alright," he suddenly became serious, "I hate to change the subject, but I'm here about the stabbing victim. They told me you brought him in."

She frowned and nodded, "Will he be alright?"

He hesitated for a moment. "They said that what you did bought him some time. But it's still a long shot."

Diana sighed sadly, "I knew that'd be a possibility."

"If neither of you mind, I need to ask a few questions and get your statements." He glanced around briefly at the others in the room, "It might be best to do it at the station."

"Of course, we're happy to do anything we can to help," said Diana. Drusilla nodded in agreement.

"Great, you're not under arrest or anything so it's your choice if you'd like me to drive you or if you'd like to drive your own car."

"We can just ride along," said Diana.

"Alright then, I'll show you to my car." He smiled slightly and began to lead them out of the hospital.

"Winston!" Buck shouted. The door rattled as the older man banged on it.

"Go away!" Dallas shouted back sleepily, his voice partly muffled by the pillow. His head was throbbing from his fight with Tim Shepard the night before. Or was it the two or ten beers he had after the fight?

"Get up, Winston! It's the cops!"

It took Dally a moment to realize what Buck had said. "What the Hell do they want?"

"They wanna talk to ya!" Buck yelled, losing patience, "Somethin' about a soc stabbing!"

Dally suddenly remembered the previous night. He jumped up and looked around the room. Ponyboy's damp shirt was hanging over the armchair in plain sight. Dally snatched it up and stuffed it under the mattress.

He growled under his breath and pressed his knuckles into his forehead, trying to will away the throbbing as he got up to open the door.

Buck was standing there, looking annoyed. Two middle-aged fuzz were standing there behind him, smirking as a cat would after cornering a mouse.

"How'd you find me?" asked Dally, glaring at them.

"Come on, Winston, you're not exactly anonymous here, especially when you're here just about every weekend," one of the cops answered.

"I thought there was some confidentiality bull for when you rent out these rooms, Buck," said Dally.

"Not when they're threatening to fine me for serving minors," said Buck before leaving the room.

The cops and Dally stood in a stiff silence before one of the cops spoke, "A kid from the West part of town was stabbed in the park not far from here last night. Would you know anything about that, Winston?"

"He probably had it coming," said Dally, coldly.

"Perhaps we better take this to the station. You might be more cooperative there," said one of the cops.

"Am I being charged with anything?" asked Dally.

"Not yet," one of them answered.

"So I don't gotta come," he said.

"That's true, if we were giving you a choice."

Dally glowered at them for a moment before saying, "Whatever. Let me get my shirt."

"Make it quick." They stepped out of the room while Dally hunted for a clean shirt.


End file.
